All our consultations are by appointment and are available at the following times:

Monday 9 - 10.30am, 2 - 3pm, 5 - 6.30pm

Tuesday 9 - 11.30am, 2 - 4pm, 5 - 6.30pm

Wednesday 9 - 11.30am, 2 - 4pm, 5 - 6.30pm

Thursday 9 - 10.30am, 2 - 3pm, 5 - 6.30pm

Friday 9 - 10.30am, 5 - 6.30pm

Saturday 9 - 11.30am

If you require an appointment outside of these hours please contact the surgery for advice.

Crate Training Do’s and Don’ts

When you are crate training your pet it can often be a lengthy process that requires you to be dedicated and patient. In this blog we will look at some do’s and don’ts when you are training them to be in their crate. By following this advice you should find the end result is a good one.

make sure to exercise your pet before you look to crate them. If they are satisfied and not still bursting with energy and needing the toilet it will be a much more comfy experience for them. So walk that little bit further than usual with your pet while you are starting to crate train.

leave your pet in the crate for a large amount of time to start off with. When training them to enjoy being in the crate the last thing you want them to feel is trapped. If the pet feels like this is the place it spends a large amount of time in it may not want to go.

make sure the crate is an inviting area for your pet to go. We advise always having a comfortable bedding within the crate that is appealing for them to relax in.

use the crate as a punishment for your pet. If you make this a place that you send your pet as a punishment it will feel it is there because it has been bad and that is not the case. We would recommend finding other ways to discipline the pet.

have the pets crate in a quiet corner of the room. This is where you slightly contradict ourselves but for the best results advise it. We recommend having the crate in a quiet corner of a frequently used room. We do not want the pet to be feeling abandoned in any way. This takes us on to the next don’t in relation.

allow anyone to tease your crated pet that they are stuck in there. This will only cause the animal to start getting distressed as it would like to move out the crate and go and play. Explain this to any new visitors within the house before they harmlessly go to see the animal.

If you would like to read more into crate training please feel free to have a look at the pet place crate training website here. This goes into a lot more detail on some of the points we have covered in this blog.